MAGA senate candidate swiftly rebuked by critics after devastating gaffe
GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers mixed up Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed with progressive influencer Hasan Piker on Wednesday — and swiftly drew backlash.
Rogers' response to the Democratic Senate nominee's victory attributed Piker's comments to the Michigan candidate just hours after voters cast their ballots for him.
"I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice," wrote Rogers, an Army veteran and former congressman. "Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11."
Piker, who campaigned for El-Sayed over the last several months, has gained a large following among progressive Democrats because of his criticisms of the U.S. government.
He has been scrutinized for his past comments around the Sept. 11 attacks, which he made in 2019 during a livestream. He later clarified in an interview with his uncle, Turkish-American activist and media host Cenk Uygur, that the remarks were "inappropriate."
The internet reacted to Rogers' comments, calling him out for misidentifying El-Sayed and tying Piker's words to the Democratic nominee.
Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall called Rogers out for not knowing the difference between the two men.
"That was Hasan Piker. A different person. But I guess to Mike Rogers all those Brown people look alike," Marshall wrote on X.
David Weigel, who covers politics for Semafor, responded to the mistake.
"The Hasan-Abdul transitive property on display; Rogers says he’s running against someone who 'believes America deserved 9/11,'" Weigel wrote on X.
That was Hasan Piker
A different person
But I guess to Mike Rogers all those Brown people look alike https://t.co/VCqHx3lZE5
— Leslie Marshall (@LeslieMarshall) August 5, 2026